Products Liability

In Alaska, product liability is primarily a creature of common law, with no direct statutory regulations. Alaska has adopted the doctrine of strict products liability. (See Products Liability in Alaska -A Practitioner's Overview)

In Alaska, product liability is primarily a creature of common law, with no direct statutory regulations. Under Alaskan common law, there is no difference between a retailer and a lessor for purposes of product liability. Koehring Mfg. Co. v. Earthmovers of Fairbanks, Inc., 763 P.2d 499, 503 (Alaska 1988). Alaska allows for a retailer or lessor found liable on a strict product liability theory to obtain indemnity from the manufacturer, provided the retailer or lessor was not independently negligent. Id. at 504. Furthermore, Alaska’s “comparative negligence in product liability actions includes product misuse, unreasonable assumption of risk, and plaintiff’s ordinary negligence. Smith v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., 14 P.3d 990 (Alaska 2000).